How to accept yourself and your body and chase away anxiety

Being in nature to feel good but also to accept yourself and your body, without dwelling on distorted images that can cause feelings of dissatisfaction and non-acceptance. This is what emerges from a very fascinating and interesting research published in the journal Ecopsychology by an English team (Swami et al, Ecopsychology, 2022).

We are bombarded every day with images, often untrue, of beautiful and perfect bodies. Social media, magazines and newspapers continually propose photographs and representations that, at times, do not correspond to reality, proposing situations and women and men that certainly cannot be found in everyday life. This generates in those who observe often feelings of non-acceptance of themselves, sometimes even of discomfort towards their own body. How to distance yourself from all this? Previous studies had already shown that being in nature, spending time, for example, in a forest or park, helps to improve one's mood and self-esteem. And can nature also help to deal with the non-acceptance of one's body?

To answer this question, scientists recruited 400 volunteers who were asked to fill out questionnaires to evaluate the effects of time spent in nature on the image of themselves and their bodies. What emerged is that being in nature has allowed us to distance ourselves from distorted images and accept ourselves and our body more, as well as increase our self-esteem. Being in nature promotes healthier cognitive processes that, through a greater perception of the slow passing of time and an increased capacity for self-control, allows people to detach themselves from false ideals of perfection, thus also counteracting the anxiety that can arise, and to feel better in their body.